[boost] [1.34.0] meaning of tests

From: Vladimir Prus (ghost_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-01-28 07:32:00

There is at least a couple of test failures, where the right course
of action depends on what we want tests to mean.

First example is one of Boost.Test failures on darwin. I'm using
this just as illustration.

The test in question checks that Boost.Test captures division by zero. However,
as explained by Tobias, on Power processors division by zero
is not automatically detected, and the compiler should emit extra
code for checks, and does not emit such code by default. So,
the test fails.

We can take two approaches:

        1. If a test is green, it means tested functionality is
        available for users, when using freshly downloaded
        Boost, with default compiler options.

        2. If a test is green, there's some combination
        of compiler options, and other setup, where
        this functionality is available.

Approach (2) might be more interesting to the library authors --
in particular case it's interesting to check all the code 
for detecting division by zero in Boost.Test, provided division itself
is checked by compiler.

At the same time, (1) might be more interesting for user. If a user
sees green cell, he's likely to expect the library to work with
default options and no effort on his part. If that's not the case, it's
better to leave the test failing and describe how user can get the
desired functionality.

Any comments?

- Volodya